Test your basic knowledge |

Trivia: Musical Terms

Subject : trivia
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A chord comprised of three whole tones resulting in an augmented fourth or diminished fifth.






2. Suite of Baroque dances.






3. Sliding between two notes.






4. Repetition of a single tone.






5. Dull - monotonous tone such as a humming or buzzing sound. Also a bass note held under a melody.






6. Music that is easy to listen to and understand.






7. A set of five musicians who perform a composition written for five parts.






8. To repeat a previous part of a composition generally after other music has been played.






9. Originally an improvised cadence by a soloist. Later it became a written out passage to display performance skills of an instrumentalist or performer.






10. A composition written for nine instruments.






11. Introduction to an opera or other large musical work.






12. The interval between two notes. Three whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.






13. A form of music written for marching in two-step time. Originally the march was used for military processions.






14. A book of text containing the words of an opera.






15. A set of seven musicians who perform a composition written for seven parts.






16. A canon where the melody is sung in two or more voices. After the first voice begins - the next voice starts singing after a couple of measures are played in the preceding voice. All parts repeat continuously.






17. The keyboard of a stringed instrument.






18. A rhythmic succession of musical tones - a melody for instruments and voices.






19. Refers to any great composer - conductor - or teacher of music.






20. A set of four musicians who perform a composition written for four parts.






21. Sliding between two notes.






22. A set of six musicians who perform a composition written for six parts.






23. A solo concert with or without accompaniment.






24. Pertaining to the fugue - the overlapping of the same theme or motif by two or more voices a few beats apart.






25. The first section of a movement written in sonata form - introducing the melodies and themes.






26. A piece of music played at the end of a recital responding to the audiences enthusiastic reaction to the performance - shown by continuous applause.






27. A sequence of songs - perhaps on a single theme - or with texts by one poet - or having continuos narrative.






28. Music of a particular form consisting of four movements. Each of the movements differ in tempo - rhythm - and melody; but are held together by subject and style.






29. A dance written in triple time - where the accent falls on the first beat of each measure.






30. Primary theme or subject that is developed.






31. Three to four movement orchestral piece - generally in sonata form.






32. A period in history during the 18th and early 19th centuries where the focus shifted from the neoclassical style to an emotional - expressive - and imaginative style.






33. To hold a tone or rest held beyond the written value at the discretion of the performer.






34. A composition whose style is simple and idyllic; suggestive of rural scenes.






35. Group of singers in a chorus.






36. The first section of a movement written in sonata form - introducing the melodies and themes.






37. Two or more voices or instruments playing the same note simultaneously.






38. The interval between two notes. Two whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.






39. Often used in overtures - a composition that uses passages from other movements of the composition in its entirety.






40. Includes all twelve notes of an octave.






41. A symbol in sheet music a direction to play energetically.






42. The unit of musical rhythm.






43. In sheet music - a symbol at the beginning of the staff defining the pitch of the notes found in that particular staff.






44. A musical theme given to a particular idea or main character of an opera.






45. The seventh note of the scale where there is a strong desire to resolve on the tonic.






46. The period of music history which dates from the mid 1700's to mid 1800's. The music was spare and emotionally reserved - especially when compared to Romantic and Boroque music.






47. A musical composition written solely to improve technique. Often performed for artistic interest.






48. A hymn sung by the choir and congregation often in unison.






49. Made up of five horizontal parallel lines and the spaces between them on which musical notation is written.






50. The interval between two notes. Three whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.